Agronomy and Horticulture, Department of
Date of this Version
3-12-2018
Document Type
Article
Abstract
This article focuses on breeding resistant strawberries to the fungus Verticillium dahliae, common name Verticillium wilt. This is a serious fungal disease that can result in a loss of 50% or more of a strawberry harvest when grown in infested soil. The main goal is to provide an example of how a cultivar can be made more resistant to a plant pathogen with the use of plant breeding methods.
Since 1930 the University of California, Davis, has been developing strawberry cultivars that are adapted to the agricultural industry and regional farms. Developing cultivars that require fewer inputs are of significant economic importance in agronomy. Developing a crop resistant to a disease is beneficial for horticulturists since less labor and chemicals are needed for a high yield.
In commercial strawberry cultivars, complete resistance to V. dahlia is extremely rare. The majority of Californian strawberry cultivars are highly susceptible to it. Over the last 18 years of plant breeding for strawberry cultivars with a high degree of resistance and horticultural traits, strawberry cultivars with at least moderate resistance grew to 53.8% of the strawberry germplasm being measured in the study. Each plant was rated from 1 to 5 based on symptoms of V. dahliae in comparison to control plants over the length of the study.
- The lowest ranking was 1 meaning severe stunting or death
- A ranking of 3 indicated moderate damage and signs of tolerance
- The highest ranking was 5 indicating no disease symptoms
Included in
Agricultural Education Commons, Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Food Microbiology Commons, Fruit Science Commons, Genetics Commons, Other Food Science Commons, Pathogenic Microbiology Commons, Plant Breeding and Genetics Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, University Extension Commons
Comments
Copyright (c) 2018, Zachary Christman. Used by permission